1. Technical field
The present invention relates to a system, apparatus, method and computer program for reproducing and displaying information, in particular video.
2. Description of Related Art
Systems for reproducing and displaying video in cars, such as rear-seat entertainment (RSE) systems are emerging. A rear-seat entertainment system typically consists of a DVD drive and one or more screens. FIG. 1 shows a typical configuration with roof mounting. It comprises a CD/DVD drive 10 mounted in the center stack in the front of the vehicle and a front display 20. The CD/DVD drive 10 is used for music playback and possibly for navigation. The front display 20 is used for display of center stack related matters (radio, board computer, navigation, etc.). The RSE system, which is installed for the rear seats, comprises a CD/DVD drive 30 and a display 40 for a first row of seats and optionally a further CD/DVD drive 30 and display 40 per additional row of seats. The CD/DVD drive 30 is used for movie (and music and photo) playback. The CD/DVD drives 30 and displays 40 are roof mounted. FIG. 2 shows a typical configuration with headrest mounting. The RSE system comprises a DVD drive 30 per row of seats and a display 40 per seat. The CD/DVD drive 30 is mounted in a console between the front chairs or on the roof. The displays are mounted in a headrest. Of course, all kind of mixed configurations are possible.
In the configurations shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the center stack in the front and the RSE system are not connected. For cost saving reasons, now also configurations are emerging where the CD/DVD drive of the RSE system is shared with the drive of the center stack. This is shown in FIG. 3. Although the decoder back-end is integrated with the center stack, it is not possible to watch movies in the front, at least not while driving.
The configuration of FIG. 3 has some drawbacks. Typically, the RSE system is controlled via a remote control (RC) or via local keys. A RC may not be present, for example because the batteries are flat, the RC is broken or lost, or there is no RC at all, because car owners and manufacturers don't like loose objects in a car. For this reason, operation via local keys must always be possible. In a cost-optimal system, local keys are typically located near the decoder back-end to reduce wiring. In case of the configuration of FIG. 3, this means that the keys are located on the center stack and cannot be operated by the rear-seat passengers themselves.
Even if local keys are located near the rear-seat passengers or if there is a RC, there still may be situations where the rear-seat passengers cannot operate them. This is for example the case for children that are in a special seat and cannot reach the keys and for children that are too young to understand the keys. In itself, this should not be a big problem: the driver or front passenger simply inserts a disc and starts playback.
However, many DVD discs are authored such that you first enter a special menu comprising control options. Only after making the right selections in this menu and potentially several sub-menus, one can start playing the movie. In such a situation it is a problem if control is only possible from the front. A straightforward solution would be to allow display of the movie on the front display. This would allow the driver to operate the RSE system, easily. However, for safety reasons this is often prohibited at least while driving.
It is an object of the invention to provide a system and method that do not suffer from at least some of the above-mentioned drawbacks.